London: Bollywood's evergreen hero Dev Anand, who died here earlier this month, has been conferred with an unprecedented honour by the British Actors Union, Equity.

In a gesture of sympathy and international solidarity, Equity, the British trade union for actors and entertainers, has issued a press statement expressing the union's sadness at the passing away of a non-union member: the legendary Indian movie star, Dev Anand.

The statement was presented in the form of a letter of condolence to the late actor's son Suneil Anand and was signed by the President of Equity, Christine Payne, its General Secretary, Malcolm Sinclair, and the Chairman of the Minority Ethnic Members Committee, Shiv Pande, a spokesman of the Navketan Trust said on Saturday.

"This letter is of tremendous significance as it demonstrates the international standing of the late Bollywood movie icon and pays tribute to Dev Anand's 'lifelong contributions to the Indian film industry'. This is the first time that an actor with no formal associations with Equity has been honoured in this way," the spokesman said.

A spokesperson for Equity stated "Our extra-ordinary step of issuing a press statement on this sad event is a good will gesture to recognise the immense contribution of Dev Anand as a life-long, dedicated actor, director and producer..."